Peter Gene Kelly (born June 3, 1956 in Fairbanks, Alaska) is an American politician who served as a member of the

Alaska Senate The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or rejecting gub ...

. He also served as President of the Alaska State Senate from 2017 to 2019. Kelly previously served in the Alaska Legislature in the Alaska House of Representatives and Senate from 1995 until 2003. He was defeated for re-election in 2018, losing to state representative

Scott Kawasaki Scott Jiu Wo Kawasaki (born March 20, 1975) is an American healthcare professional and politician from Alaska. A Democrat, he is a member of the Alaska Senate representing the state's District A, which includes neighborhoods within the city limi ...

Early life and education

Peter Gene Kelly was born in Fairbanks, Alaska on June 3, 1956, the youngest of seven children of Halford "Hal" and Helen Kelly. He has lived in Fairbanks for most of his life, and graduated from Monroe Catholic High School in 1974. His oldest brother was Mike Kelly. Mike died in a plane crash on December 7, 2016. Kelly attended University of Alaska Fairbanks and earned his BS in

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

from Liberty University.

Career

In 1994, Kelly was unopposed in the House District 31 August 23, 1994 Republican primary, winning with 768 votes. He challenged incumbent Democratic Representative Joe Sitton in the general election. Kelly won the three-way November 8, 1994 general election with 2,269 votes (49.9%) against Sitton and Fairbanks Republican candidate Walt Johnson. In 1996, Kelly was unopposed in the August 27, 1996 Republican primary. He won with 1,986 votes, and went on to win the November 5, 1996 general election with 3,262 votes (66.5%) against Democratic nominee Erik Holland. In 1998, when Republican Senator Bert Sharp retired and left the District P seat open, Kelly won the August 25, 1998 Republican primary, receiving 2,107 votes against District 32 Representative

Al Vezey AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

. Kelly won the November 3, 1998 general election with 5,082 votes (61.80%) against Democratic nominee Jane Haigh. Kelly was unopposed for the District B August 28, 2012 Republican primary, winning with 2,386 votes. He faced incumbent Democratic Senator

Joe Paskvan Joseph L. Paskvan (born May 19, 1952) is an attorney and a former Democratic member of the Alaska Senate. He represented the residents of District E, which includes the entire city limits of Fairbanks and several neighborhoods just outside, from ...

(redistricted from District E) in the general election; Kelly won the November 6, 2012 contest with 6,232 votes (54.11%).

References

External links

Official biography
at the Alaska Legislature
Official Alaska Senate Majority page

Campaign site
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Pete Kelly
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Pete 1956 births 21st-century American politicians Republican Party Alaska state senators Liberty University alumni Living people Republican Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives Politicians from Fairbanks, Alaska Presidents of the Alaska Senate University of Alaska Fairbanks alumni